Activity in the global services sector was unchanged in January when compared to December, based on J.P. Morgan's PMI which came in virtually at the 50 breakeven line, at 50.1. This follows three prior months of slight contraction in the high 40s.

Contraction eased in January for new orders as well as output, led by gains for business services and consumer goods. Yet consumer services and especially financial services contracted in the month.

By region, Asia is outperforming led by India and now including China and Japan. Europe is flat and the US is down.

Together with January's manufacturing PMI of 49.1 posted on Wednesday, the global composite improved by 1.6 points to 49.8.

JP Morgan Global Services PMI gives an overview of the global services sector. It is based on monthly surveys of over 5,500 executives from 15 of the world’s strongest economies, including the U.S., Japan, Germany, France and China which together account for nearly 80 percent of global services sector’s gross value added (GWA). It reflects changes in global output, employment, new business, backlogs and prices. The Global Services PMI is seasonally adjusted at the national level to control for varying seasonal patterns in each country and is produced by J.P. Morgan and Markit in association with ISM and the International Federation of Purchasing and supply Management (IFPSM).

Investors need to keep their fingers on the pulse of the economy because it dictates how various types of investments will perform. The J.P. Morgan Global Services PMI provides advance insight into the global services sector, which gives investors a better understanding of business conditions and valuable information about the economic backdrop of global markets. The stock market likes to see healthy economic growth because that translates to higher corporate profits. The bond market prefers less rapid growth and is extremely sensitive to whether the economy is growing too quickly and causing potential inflationary pressures. The PMI data are also used by many Central Banks to help make interest rate decisions.

The JP Morgan Global Services PMI data give a detailed look at the manufacturing sector, how busy it is and where things are headed. Since the services sector accounts for the lion’s share of GDP of many advanced economies, this report has a big influence on the markets. In addition, its sub-indexes provide a picture of global output, employment, new business, backlogs and prices.